A number
is -multiperfect
(also called a -multiply
perfect number or -pluperfect
number) if
for some integer , where is the divisor function.
The value of
is called the class. The special case corresponds to perfect numbers , which are intimately connected with
Mersenne primes (OEIS A000396).
The number 120 was long known to be 3-multiply perfect () since
The following table gives the first few for , 3, ..., 6.
Lehmer (1900-1901) proved that has at least three distinct prime
factors,
has at least four,
at least six,
at least nine, and
at least 14, etc.
As of 1911, 251 pluperfect numbers were known (Carmichael and Mason 1911). As of 1929, 334 pluperfect numbers were known, many of them found by Poulet. Franqui and
García (1953) found 63 additional ones (five s, 29 s, and 29 s), several of which were known to Poulet but had not been
published, bringing the total to 397. Brown (1954) discovered 110 pluperfects, including
31 discovered but not published by Poulet and 25 previously published by Franqui
and García (1953), for a total of 482. Franqui and García (1954) subsequently
discovered 57 additional pluperfects (3 s, 52 s, and 2 s), increasing the total known to 539.
An outdated database is maintained by R. Schroeppel, who lists multiperfects, and up-to-date lists by J. L. Moxham
and A. Flammenkamp. It is believed that all multiperfect numbers of index 3,
4, 5, 6, and 7 are known. The number of known -multiperfect numbers are 1, 37, 6, 36, 65, 245, 516, 1134,
2036, 644, 1, 0, ... (Moxham 2001, Flammenkamp, Woltman 2000). Moxham (2000) found
the largest known multiperfect number, approximately equal to , on Feb. 13, 2000.
If
is a
number such that ,
then
is a
number. If
is a
number such that ,
then
is a
number. If
is a
number such that 3 (but not 5 and 9) divides , then is a number.
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Numbers." Scripta Math.20, 103-106, 1954.Carmichael
and Mason, T. E. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 257-270, 1911.Cohen,
G. L. and Hagis, P. Jr. "Results Concerning Odd Multiperfect Numbers."
Bull. Malaysian Math. Soc.8, 23-26, 1985.Dickson, L. E.
History
of the Theory of Numbers, Vol. 1: Divisibility and Primality. New York:
Dover, pp. 33-38, 2005.Flammenkamp, A. "Multiply Perfect Numbers."
http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/~achim/mpn.html.Franqui,
B. and García, M. "Some New Multiply Perfect Numbers." Amer.
Math. Monthly60, 459-462, 1953.Franqui, B. and García,
M. "57 New Multiply Perfect Numbers." Scripta Math.20, 169-171,
1954.Guy, R. K. "Almost Perfect, Quasi-Perfect, Pseudoperfect,
Harmonic, Weird, Multiperfect and Hyperperfect Numbers." §B2 in Unsolved
Problems in Number Theory, 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 45-53,
1994.Helenius, F. W. "Multiperfect Numbers (MPFNs)."
http://home.netcom.com/~fredh/mpfn/.Lehmer,
D. N. Ann. Math.2, 103-104, 1900-1901.Madachy, J. S.
Madachy's
Mathematical Recreations. New York: Dover, pp. 149-151, 1979.Moxham,
J. L. "New Largest MPFN." mpfn@cs.arizona.edu
posting, 13 Feb 2000.Moxham, J. L. "1 New mpfns Total=4683."
mpfn@cs.arizona.edu posting, 26 Mar 2001.Perrier, J.-Y. "The
Multi-Perfect Numbers." http://diwww.epfl.ch/~perrier/Multiparfaits.htmlPoulet,
P. La Chasse aux nombres, Vol. 1. Brussels, pp. 9-27, 1929.Schroeppel,
R. "Multiperfect Numbers-Multiply Perfect Numbers-Pluperfect Numbers-MPFNs."
Rev. Dec. 13, 1995. ftp://ftp.cs.arizona.edu/xkernel/rcs/mpfn.html.Schroeppel,
R. (moderator). mpfn mailing list. e-mail rcs@cs.arizona.edu to subscribe.Sloane,
N. J. A. Sequences A000396/M4186,
A005820/M5376, A027687,
A046060, and A046061
in "The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences."Sorli,
R. "Multiperfect Numbers." http://www-staff.maths.uts.edu.au/~rons/mpfn/mpfn.htm.Woltman,
G. "5 new MPFNs." mpfn@cs.arizona.edu posting, 23 Sep 2000.